Historedia
AmericasEvent

The Harvard Lampoon founded

When
1876
Where
Harvard University
Episodes
1

The Harvard Lampoon, an undergraduate humor publication, was founded in 1876 by seven students at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The founders drew inspiration from established periodicals such as Punch and Puck. This event marks the origin of a long-running magazine, distinct from the broader institutional history of the university or the city's later industrial development.

Episodes

  1. 1876 · Harvard UniversityFounding of the Harvard Lampoon

    Seven undergraduates at Harvard University founded the humor magazine in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1876, inspired by Punch and Puck.

Background and detail

Background. Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a city in Middlesex County that serves as the home for Harvard University, an Ivy League institution founded in 1636. The university is recognized as the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. The founding of the Harvard Lampoon occurred within this academic environment, which had developed significant character by the late nineteenth century.

Inspiration. The founders of the Harvard Lampoon were inspired by popular magazines of the era, specifically Punch, which began in 1841, and Puck, which started in 1876. These publications provided a model for the undergraduate humor magazine. The Lampoon is subsequently recognized as the world's third longest-running continually published humor magazine, following Swedish and Swiss predecessors.

Founders. Seven undergraduates at Harvard University established the publication in 1876. Specific founders identified in the sources include Ralph Wormeley Curtis, Edward Sandford Martin, Edmund March Wheelwright, and Arthur Murray Sherwood. These individuals are credited with the first publication of the magazine in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

People involved

Sources

  1. The Harvard Lampoon Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-11
  2. Cambridge, Massachusetts Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-08
  3. Harvard University Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.